Business And Civic Society Dismisses Indigenous Act

The meeting was organised by the Parliamentary Portfolio Committee on Budget, Finance and Economic Development.

“To implement this law, will be a mockery…the inclusive government has a lot of mess to clean,” said Svinurai Maboreke. “It has not yet done anything to create an environment suitable for economic revival. Most companies have closed down and are struggling to revive…”

“It’s wrong timing for the government to talk of this Act when the country needs foreign direct investment for it to get on its feet,and its not true that the banks are going to lend people money for investment as prescribed in the indigenisation Act,” said a Banker. “We in the banking sector are saying the law needs to be set aside until and when the country’s economy comes back to life throughforeign direct investiment,” he said.

“We do not need to go and ask investors how they view this Act for us to know whether they are scared but the mere fact thatthe stock exchange and investment markets are not performing answers the question,” said a local economist.

The controversial indigenous law regulations were effected on March 1. The law has been widely criticized locally and internationally. German investors have already warned that they will stop investing in Zimbabwe under the law. The law gives local indigenous people 51 percent shareholding of foreign owned businesses.